The ambergris in the base has aged so smooth to the point it makes it hard to delineate the notes. The leather quickly shows herself in my bottle and its one of the softest best done leathers Ive run accross. Dont let the list of the base notes fool you. They behave very well and expertly blended.

This is not powerhouse, but a throw backs to a toilette and lightness of fragrance. If you want a more pronounced experience, get the extrait.

My vintage sample smells nothing like the wonderful description below...sadly I guess it has turned. It is a very floral powder. It may start with some leather, but it muddies quickly to sweet, very dated powder. Negative review based on this, not what it was in its day.

I was lucky enough to find a small bottle of this vintage perfume, with its intaglio black glass stopper and art deco lacquer-and-paper box. The extrait itself had darkened to the color of old cognac, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I wasn't disappointed: Pretexte announced itself with a rush of fine leather, followed by a spicy-herbal, ambery warmth. Sometimes, as the scent unfolds, I can detect a floral note, sometimes a whiff of vanilla. It seems very much a fragrance of its time (late 1930s) and place (France) and that's a good thing. For an approximation, imagine Messe de Minuit or Black Cashmere, left to mellow in an expensive handbag, and you might get some sense of Pretexte.